Swami Vivekananda quoted in his book 'The complete works of Swami Vivekananda':
Anything that helps to unite all and develop pure divine love and universal brotherhood, is Dharma. Anything that creates discord, split and disharmony and foments hatred, is Adharma. Dharma is the cementer and sustainer of social life. The rules of Dharma have been laid down for regulating the worldly affairs of men. Dharma brings as its consequence happiness, both in this world and in the next. Dharma is the means of preserving one’s self. If you transgress it, it will kill you. If you protect it, it will protect you. It is the sole refuge of humanity."
I thought, wow, there goes my faith in humanity. To me, it was a reflection of society's lack of compassion. It was horrifying to think that out of a group of people, no one is willing to help. I thought, is this the era that we become heartless? Is this the generation with which compassion becomes extinct? Possibly, but I think people's lack of compassion has always existed. I could remind people of the slaves who died building the pyramids, or battles in Roman Colosseum, or the live beheadings during the Nazis, or the celebration of the atomic bombs during World War II.
A great part of my being wants to believe that the people are good. That they are still good despite everything they have done and continue to do to another and all the lives they have destroyed this is perhaps extremely naive of me and maybe what eventually destroys us, or perhaps this is the only thing that kept up alive.
It is our sense of "not wanting to get involved" that allows preventable tragedies to happen before our eyes, or worse, before our phones. People today do not only hesitate to help, but instead prefer to adjust the camera on their phones to get a clearer image. It seems like we would rather be the witnesses than helpers, the observers rather than the doers, the accomplices rather than the heroes. What if the person being murdered was a loved one, and you found out that there were 38 witnesses that could have helped, but didn't? What if you were the one begging for help, only to find out that instead of being rescued, you where being recorded? Sometimes someone else will help, sometimes they won't; but if we can, why not?
Comments